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Tuesday, April 5, 2016

Some Necks: A Caricature of the Allied Leaders

Hello Again, Friends!

In keeping with our theme of Prelude: Meet the Allies,
this week’s post by John showcases a unique print of the Allied leaders. Check
it out below:

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Delve into the growing collection of artifacts, photos,
documents at artwork of the D-Day Memorial, and you don’t have to look very far
to find an unexpected treasure. Every piece tells a story, though some stories are
easier to reconstruct than others and many are lost in the shadows of history.
But every so often you’ll run across one of those pieces that at first glance
gets little attention…a second glance makes you think “what is that,
anyway?”…and a little digging reveals a fascinating glimpse into our WWII past.

Arthur Szyk photographed in the 1930s

Such was the case with this compelling print by a little
known artist named Arthur Szyk. Although not as well-known as other
contemporaries like Bill Maldlin or Norman Rockwell, Szyk’s work still evokes
powerful responses and stand as plaintive cries against the tyranny of the
Axis.

Szyk (pronounced “Shick”) was born in Russian-occupied
Poland in 1894 to a well-off Jewish family in Lodz. That cosmopolitan city was
an artistic center for Poland; and young Arthur began early to exhibit signs of
impressive talents. His training, however, was interrupted by WWI, when he was
drafted into the Russian army, and then by service to the newly independent
Poland in the short-lived Polish-Soviet border war afterwards.

Between the wars Szyk’s art began to win acclaim and was
featured in major exhibitions in Paris and London. When Hitler came to power in
Germany, threatening both his native Poland and his fellow European Jews, Szyk
was one of the earliest artistic critics of Hitler—perhaps prophetically. For
instance, in an illustrated Haggadah
(1932-38, arguably his magnum opus), he portrayed blond Egyptians wearing
swastikas as they chased the Israelites through the Red Sea. Perhaps he
intended a subtle, portentous warning—things didn’t end well for the Egyptians.

In 1939, Nazi Germany invaded Poland, and Arthur Szyk intensified
his one-man artistic crusade against the Axis. Soon after, the artist moved to
New York, perhaps intending to use his talents to convince the isolationist
America to enter the war.

"Some Necks"

His works, especially his caricatures, were vivid, meticulously
detailed, and anything but subtle. He made no bones about his disdain for the
Axis enemy, and the American public came to embrace his work. Whether published
in books, on posters, on magazine covers, or shown on exhibition, his art
featured unmistakable themes: freedom is better than tyranny; justice is better
than oppression; the Allies were the good guys in an epic crusade against the contemptible
monsters on the Axis side.

The print in our collection, dated 1942, is an unusual
example, in that it portrays the Allied leaders—most of his work featured only lurid
caricatures of the Axis dictators. Titled “Some Necks,” it shows the Big Three
Allied leaders as intrepid heroes, destined for and deserving of victory. Note
that any contradiction between Stalin’s bloodthirsty tyranny and Shyk’s
political idealism is a subject studiously avoided.

The title comes from a speech made by Churchill during a
visit to Canada in December 1941: “When I warned them that Britain would fight
on alone whatever they did, [the defeatist French generals] told their Prime
Minister and his divided Cabinet, ‘In three weeks England will have her neck
wrung like a chicken.’ Some chicken! Some neck!”

In "Some Necks," Stalin is portrayed flinging away Hitler.

Szyk portrays Churchill as the stately, dignified British
aristocrat; Stalin is a resolute Georgian man of the soil; while Roosevelt confidently
assumes the role of the grandfatherly cowboy sheriff. Churchill, with an
unmissable V for Victory on his ascot, holds aloft a dwarfish Mussolini clearly
labeled “Flop.” Stalin disdainfully prepares to fling away a grotesque,
screaming Hitler. Meanwhile an unconcerned FDR, flashing his own V sign with
two fingers, holds a sign reading “Wait” against a charging Tojo, while he stares
self-assuredly into a better future. Perhaps it was intended as Szyk’s
endorsement of Roosevelt’s “Europe First” strategy.

Szyk lived to see the defeat of his dreaded enemy, and
continued to work until his death in 1951, always taking the opportunity to
speak out for political causes, the Jewish people, and the rights of other
ethnic minorities (including African Americans). After his death he largely faded
into obscurity, but Szyk has enjoyed a bit of a revival in recent years, with
major exhibitions of his work and several publications. Across the decades,
Szyk still speaks to us that freedom and justice are superior to tyranny and
oppression; that such lofty ideals are still worth defending.

We have a lot of stories to tell through our collection
at the NDDMF. We look forward to sharing them all.

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The National D-Day Memorialis run by a private, non-profit educational foundation in Bedford, Virginia that seeks to preserve the lessons and legacy of D-Day, June 6, 1944.

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I work as the Education Coordinator for the National D-Day Memorial planning a variety of family-friendly programs for students of all ages. It is my passion to present history in a way that is fun and engaging.